Ye Wan was momentarily speechless and said, "I'll see when the time comes. I still need to spend the New Year with my younger brother."
"Bring your brother along too. It'll be more lively with more people," Mrs. Lin feared Ye Wan wouldn't agree.
Ye Wan felt somewhat helpless but didn't refuse. She could understand Mrs. Lin's deep love for her daughter, but she had no feelings for Mrs. Lin, nor any maternal affection.
...
Just as Ye Wan hung up the phone and was about to search for some information online, the slightly ajar door was pushed open. Ye Wan looked over and saw a cute little head struggling to squeeze in. After it managed to get through, it happily ran in. Reaching the bed, it saw its owner on the bed and intended to jump up as well.
But it was too small. After a few jumps, it couldn't get onto the bed. On the last attempt, it fell, letting out a miserable yelp. It whimpered pitifully and finally used its two short legs to grip the edge of the bed, looking at its owner with a wronged expression, hoping she would help it up.
Ye Wan pretended not to see, ignoring it, and continued to search for information with her laptop.
The little tiger whined pitifully for a while. Seeing that its owner was truly ignoring it, it went to play by itself. After a while, it became happy, completely forgetting its previous grievance.
Ye Wan secretly glanced at it. It was indeed just a baby, quickly forgetting unhappy things, just like Xiao Jinbao.
When Ye Wan looked up again, she saw the little tiger lying on its back on the floor, already asleep.
...
From then on, wherever Ye Wan went, the little tiger would follow her as long as it was awake. Auntie Sun found it astonishing. This little creature seemed to understand human emotions and knew who its owner was.
Ye Wan had said she didn't want to keep any more pets, but looking at the little tiger's silly, cute appearance, she couldn't bear to drive it away and let it follow her.
For the next three days, Gu Yunting did not return to the Gu residence. She occasionally saw news about Gu Yunting online, always a blurry figure with a woman by his side.
Seeing that he wasn't returning, Ye Wan felt there was no need for her to stay in the Gu residence. That evening, she went to find Jiang Yan, who was working at a milk tea shop. Jiang Yan was very happy to see her and immediately made her a milk tea.
Ye Wan watched as Jiang Yan, after only a few days of work, had become quite proficient. Her smile deepened. Jiang Yan handed her the milk tea and said, "Sit there and drink it. It's busy right now. I'll keep you company when it's less busy."
"You don't need to keep me company. You focus on your work. Are you tired?" Ye Wan felt a pang of concern seeing her so busy.
"It's okay. It's just that there are many customers at this time. It's usually quite leisurely. Once I get used to it, it won't be tiring."
Seeing more customers arriving, Ye Wan didn't want to disturb her and went to sit aside to wait, planning to have dinner with Jiang Yan later.
Her phone rang. Lin Zehan called, inviting her to a charity auction the following evening. Ye Wan had nothing else to do recently, so she agreed. She had never been to such an event and wanted to broaden her horizons.
After finishing her shift, Jiang Yan took off her apron and ran over, saying, "Let's go. What do you want to eat? My treat."
"You've already treated me to milk tea. Let me treat you to hot pot. I saw a place nearby when I came," Ye Wan said with a smile.
Jiang Yan hadn't had hot pot in a long time either, so they went. While eating, Ye Wan asked about the case involving Jiang Yan's father.
"They said the trial will be after the New Year," Jiang Yan still felt sad when she thought of her father.
"Can't he be bailed out first?"
Jiang Yan shook her head and said, "Let's not think about unhappy things for now. I'm hungry, let's eat."